Some Hearts Just Get Lucky Sometimes
by the-Bookworm-Princess
Summary: Jennifer asks Rodney to be her date at a medical conference gala in New York. Happy, amusing fluff. McKay/Keller pre-ship. Complete.


A/N: This story takes place after the episode "Search and Rescue." Any episodes previous to that are fair game as far as spoilers go.

* * *

_"You're the last thing my heart expected. Who'd have thought I'd ever find somebody? Someone who, someone who makes me feel like this. Well, I guess some hearts, they just get all the right breaks. Some hearts have the stars on their side. Some hearts, they just have it so easy. Some hearts just get lucky sometimes. Some hearts just get lucky sometimes." - Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts"_

"Maybe I just won't go," Jennifer sighed.

"You _have_ to go!" Sam insisted. "It's in _New York_. Even if the medical conference is boring as all get out, you'll still have a blast sight-seeing."

"I guess…" Jennifer conceded. "But I can't show up at the gala Sunday night without a date."

"So ask somebody. Atlantis has plenty of eligible bachelors that I'm sure would love to be on your arm at a party." Sam grinned.

Jennifer blushed. "Like who?"

"How about Ronon? I thought you said you kind of had a thing for him."

Jennifer shrugged. "Well, since he hasn't talked to me except for medical-related issues since then, I think our 'moment' was a one-time thing."

"Bummer. I'd have loved to see him standing next to you in a tux," Sam joked.

Jennifer laughed. "I'm sure Colonel Sheppard's too busy."

"Yeah, he's still doing paperwork from his last mission. Apparently he had a run-in with the father of _his_ last festival date. You know, the one who turned out to _not _be eighteen?"

Jennifer chuckled. "Poor guy." Changing the subject, she asked, "So how long are you back here for?"

"I'm leaving on the _Daedalus_ tomorrow," Sam answered. "The SGC barely let me come back with Woolsey so I could pack up my stuff."

"I've had three different bosses in just over a year…" Jennifer mused. "And from what I remember of Mr. Woolsey's last visit, I don't think I like him very much."

"Woolsey…takes some getting used to," Sam conceded. "But I think you'll all adjust. Just be grateful you didn't get stuck with some _other_ IOA nut-job."

When Rodney passed by the two ladies, absorbed in something work-related on his tablet, Sam caught Jennifer smiling after him. "Why don't you ask Rodney?" she asked, returning to their previous conversation.

"Rodney?" She tucked an imaginary piece of hair behind her ear. "I mean, I _could_… I just don't want anyone getting the wrong idea." She quickly took a sip of her drink.

Sam smirked. "Or the right one."

Jennifer bit her lip. "Is it that obvious?"

Sam smiled and nodded. "I kind of picked up on it when you two had drinks after we got stuck in that awful Genii mining facility."

"I wasn't giggling like a _girl_, was I?" Jennifer asked, worried.

"No," Sam assured her. "You just looked really happy."

"You really think I should ask him?"

Sam nodded. "If you can convince him to leave all his work here, I bet you'll have a good time."

"Gee, I dunno, I--"

"Hey, McKay!" Sam called, waving him over to their table. "Dr. Keller has a question she wants to ask you."

"Sam!" the doctor hissed. "Don't! I don't know what to say or how to-- Hi, Rodney."

"You called?"

The room suddenly felt warm to Jennifer. "I, umm…"

"Dr. Keller just received an invitation to a medical seminar in New York this weekend," Sam said, helping the younger woman out.

"Okay…" Rodney didn't see what this had to do with him, and he was already running through the list of other things he could be doing at the moment.

"And there's a fancy party on the last day, isn't there, Doctor?" Sam pressed.

Jennifer nodded. "I was wondering… Y'know, if you're not _doing_ anything this weekend…" Man, was this what the pressure felt like when guys had asked _her_ out? "Would you like to be my date?" she managed, looking up at him expectantly. She saw the wheels in Rodney's head turning and she wished very much that she knew what he was thinking.

"Huh. You know, even with all my traveling, I've never actually been to New York," Rodney commented. "Well, we're crisis-free at the moment, so barring any unforeseen catastrophes…I guess I could take a few days off."

Jennifer hoped her inner relief and excitement weren't too visibly obvious. "Thanks," she smiled. "It'd be really awful to have to go stag to the gala."

"Mm. Well, just don't make me go dress shopping with you," Rodney said. "Now can I finish this?" He held up his data pad that had several complex equations and a few schematics displayed on it.

Jennifer nodded. "Just be all packed by three on Friday."

"Yes, yes," he said, already walking off, engrossed in his work again.

XXXXXX

"See, I told you walking through Central Park would be fun," Jennifer said Friday afternoon as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I especially liked the part where we got kicked out of the zoo," Rodney replied sarcastically.

"I didn't know they'd get mad!" she insisted.

"There was a sign _on the cage_ that said not to feed the monkeys."

"But the little one was so cute…"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Speaking of food," he said a moment later, "I'm hungry."

"We can grab something on the way back to the hotel," she said. "What do you-- Oh, my God." She stared at something across the street, her eyes wide. "That's Jamie Bamber!" she said excitedly, tugging on his sleeve.

"Who? Where?"

"Right _there_!" She pointed at where a young man was crossing the intersection on the other side of the street.

"Who, the little short guy?"

"Yes!"

"And you find time during life on Atlantis to watch whatever girly show he's on?"

"Not regularly, but I've caught pieces of episodes. It seems like something _you'd_ be into; it's sci-fi."

He shrugged. "Sci-fi TV shows are a little too much like my day job."

She chuckled. "Point taken." When she saw a hot dog stand ahead of them, she said, "Ooh. C'mon."

"A hot dog?" Rodney said disdainfully. "Won't that ruin our dinners?"

"Rodney…this _is_ dinner," she said, then turned to the vendor. "Hi, I'd like a hot dog, no mustard, please, and he…" She looked back at Rodney, who was still staring at the franks with distaste. "He'll have one with everything on it."

"I don't like onions," he said.

"Fine. No onions on his, please."

"Yes, ma'am." Jennifer paid the man and watched as he dressed the dogs. "Here you go, ma'am. Have a nice day."

"Thanks," she said, taking the food. "You, too."

They sat down on a bench a little farther down the sidewalk and Jennifer hungrily took a bite out of her hot dog, while Rodney just stared at his.

"You have to eat, Rodney," she insisted. "If you pass out from hypoglycemic shock, I might just leave you here."

"It's indigestion in a bun."

"No, it's yummy. Now eat it, so we can go get ice cream."

Rodney perked up. "Ice cream?"

"Yeah. I thought we'd go get ice cream after we finish eating," she explained. "Unless you don't like ice cream…"

Rodney picked up his hot dog and reluctantly took a bite.

XXXXXX

"Vanilla's so boring," Jennifer commented as they sat down on the barstools at the front of the ice cream parlor.

"Well, you enjoy your rocky road monstrosity, and I will enjoy my boring vanilla."

They ate their ice creams in silence, trying to finish the frozen treats before they melted out of the cones. Unfortunately, Rodney wasn't fast enough, and some of his boring vanilla began to dribble down the side of his cone. Seeing that it was about to drip onto the table, Jennifer leaned over without thinking and licked up the side of his cone.

Rodney stared at her, horrified. "You licked my ice cream cone!"

"Sorry, it was an accident!" she said.

"How do you _accidentally_ lick someone's ice cream cone?"

She leaned over and licked up another dribble. "Like that!"

"Eww…" He made a face. Jennifer smiled, amused, and tried again.

Rodney reacted this time, pulling his arm away from her and leaning back. When she still teasingly chased after his cone, he leaned back further and immediately lost his balance. Gasping, Jennifer reached out and grabbed his flailing wrist before he fell backwards off the stool.

As soon as Rodney had regained his balance on the chair, Jennifer burst out laughing. "I'm so glad you find my peril amusing," he said sarcastically, then took a large lick from his scoop of vanilla.

"So what are you going to do tomorrow while I'm off listening to Dr. Sahik drone on and on?"

"I brought stuff to work on," he answered.

"I know, a whole backpack full of it."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do for two days?"

"Oh, I dunno, you could actually _use_ the vacation time you've been given and go sight-see or something, tour the Statue of Liberty. You know, something _fun_."

"Working _is_ fun for me," he insisted, taking a bite from his waffle cone.

"Apparently. I never see you doing anything else."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"True," she replied, smiling. Her expression softened as she watched him lick a stray drip on his cone. "Thank you," she said. "For coming."

He smiled.

XXXXXX

"Man, those cannolis were good!" Andrea Butler said as they exited the restaurant Saturday night. "Thanks for dinner, Jennifer."

"You're welcome."

"I wish we didn't have to sit through another whole day of that boring conference, though," Andrea complained.

"I think it's interesting," Jennifer replied. "And you'll probably be able to use the information one day."

Andrea sighed. "If you say so…" The young plastic-surgeon-to-be had been sitting next to Jennifer during the lectures all day and the two had gotten acquainted while passing notes about how cute the lecturer's assistant was.

"If you think it's so boring, why did you decide to come?" Jennifer asked.

"My professor made me," Andrea answered. "Believe me, I'd rather be writing a research paper or something. Oh, well. At least there's the gala to look forward to tomorrow night," she said happily. "I have the most _beautiful_ dress."

"Did you manage to dig up a date?"

"Yeah. My husband," Andrea replied, holding up her left hand and flaunting an expensive-looking ring.

Jennifer was surprised she hadn't noticed the rock earlier. She smiled. "I bet you'll have a wonderful time."

"Yeah, if I can keep him away from the buffet table long enough to get him to dance with me," Andrea winked. As they stepped through the revolving door and entered the hotel, they immediately noticed the beautiful music coming from the grand piano in the far corner of the large lobby.

"Dang," Andrea said. "Someone's _really_ good."

"Yeah…" Jennifer agreed, nodding. "What is that, Beethoven?"

"No, it's Mozart."

"How can you tell the difference?"

"Because it's 'The Turkish March,'" Andrea answered. "I played that in the eighth grade."

"Oh."

"Hey, I have to get going. I told Brad not to wait up for me, but he probably did anyway."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved as Andrea headed for the west elevators. As Jennifer started across the luxurious lobby on her way to the east elevators, she couldn't help but be intrigued by the lovely music coming from the grand piano. She'd only ever heard live music like that when she'd been forced to attend a classical music concert as part of her music appreciation course in college.

She slowed as she neared the elevators, hoping to watch the musician play. She walked forward a few paces until she could see the performer behind the grand piano. "Rodney?" she gaped in surprise.

Rodney hit a wrong note as he looked up, startled. "What?"

"Was that you playing that beautiful song?" she asked in amazement.

Rodney made a show of looking at the space around him, as if expecting to see another piano virtuoso. Then he looked back at her. "Yes." Aside from the concierge, a receptionist, and an elderly couple on the far side of the room, they were the only two in the lobby.

"It was really good," she said with a smile. "I didn't know you played."

"I used to when I was kid," he replied.

"It sounded to me like you've still got it," she said, impressed.

"To the untrained ear, maybe."

Jennifer rolled her eyes, then asked, "So you just saw the piano sitting in the corner and decided to have at it?"

"The receptionist was in the lobby when I was heading to my room," he explained. "I commented that it was a really nice piano, and she told me that if I knew anything besides 'Chopsticks' that I was welcome to play it. I couldn't resist." He looked admiringly at the instrument. "It's a _really_ nice piano…"

"Do you know any other songs?"

"Why?"

"'Cause I want to watch you play," Jennifer answered with a smile. "Why do you think?"

"What do you want to hear?"

"I don't know… 'Clocks' by Coldplay?"

"What?"

She smiled. "Nevermind. It was a long shot. What's that one song… Y'know, it's by a black composer and it sounds like something you'd hear in a saloon in those old movies."

"Scott Joplin?" Rodney guessed.

"Sure!"

"Well, what's the name of the song?"

"I don't remember… But I know I like it."

"You're so helpful," he said sarcastically. "His two most popular ones are 'The Entertainer' and 'The Maple Leaf Rag'. But I refuse to play 'The Entertainer', because the ice cream truck played it _all_ day long when I was a kid and I was never allowed to go outside and get ice cream; it kind of ruined the song for me."

"You poor thing. Is that why you pig out on ice cream when the _Daedalus_ brings in a shipment?" she teased.

"Do you want me to play for you or not?"

"Sorry." She gestured to the instrument. "Impress me."

Rodney placed his hands on the keys and started to play 'The Maple Leaf Rag'. Jennifer couldn't help but smile as his fingers coaxed the lively tune out of the grand piano. She was impressed by the speed and dexterity with which he played; his hands were all over the keyboard.

She didn't speak for a long moment, not wanting to interrupt the spirited melody. When he was about halfway through the song, she finally asked, "How many years of lessons did you have?"

"Started when I was six, stopped when I was twelve," Rodney answered, his fingers never pausing.

Jennifer looked shocked. "You haven't had a lesson since you were twelve and you can still remember all that in your head?"

"Genius," he shrugged, but without his usual smugness. "It comes with the territory…"

"Did you ever want to be a professional musician?"

He chuckled. "When I was younger I did, but my teacher kind of discouraged me from taking that career path. But who knows…maybe in some parallel universe I play in sold out concert halls."

Jennifer smiled. "Maybe." She waited until he finished the song, then said, "That was amazing."

Rodney shrugged the compliment off.

"Well, I should probably get to bed," she said, looking at her watch.

He stood from the bench and stretched. "Me, too."

"Wanna have breakfast tomorrow?" she offered.

"I suppose…" he said as they headed toward the elevator.

"Okay." She pressed the 'up' arrow on the wall. "Meet me in the hotel café at seven thirty."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Seven thirty?" he whined, stepping into the spacious lift.

"Oh, like you were actually gonna sleep in with all the work you brought," she scoffed, punching the number three.

"Fine," he surrendered.

"Good."

The doors opened on the third floor and they stepped out of the elevator, turning to head to their separate rooms. "Seven thirty, Rodney," she reminded. "Promise me you won't be late."

"I promise," he sighed.

She smiled. "G'night."

"'Night."

XXXXXX

At exactly 7:35 the next morning, Jennifer stepped out of her room, muttering, "Crap, crap, crap…" To her surprise, Rodney came out of his room a second later.

"I'm sorry!" he said when he saw her standing there. "I was watching something and didn't notice what time it was. Were you coming up to get me?"

"No. Actually, I was just leaving, too," she confessed. "_Back to the Future_ was on and I had to finish it." She cocked her head to the side. It was unusual for something on television to finish at five minutes past the half hour mark. The odds weren't very likely that two different programs on two separate channels had both run over to exactly 7:35… "Rodney," she asked with a smirk, remembering how he'd vocalized his dislike for the movie on several occasions. "Are you late for breakfast because were you watching _Back to the Future_, too?"

"What?" He looked offended. "No. It was a documentary on the new space shuttle they're building."

"Uh-huh," she said, not convinced.

"Space shuttles to visit Mars seem so primitive when you think about what _we_ do."

She nodded, still not believing him, but she decided to let it go. "So, breakfast?"

XXXXXX

Rodney glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Six thirty. Jennifer should be ready to go any minute now. He sighed and trudged over to the mirror. "Okay," he said determinedly, grasping the ends of his black bowtie. "Something about a rabbit in a hole…and a fox," he said to himself, trying to tie it properly. After three attempts, he had a bow…but one of the loops was dramatically bigger than the other. "Stupid black-tie affairs," he muttered, pulling it loose and starting over. "They're just an excuse for women to buy more jewelry and force their dates into stuffy tuxedos with ties that are damned impossible…"

Two minutes later, he was finally satisfied with the bowtie. He began looking at himself in the mirror critically, trying to see if he could pass for "handsome" or not.

He was interrupted when the phone rang. He walked over to the nightstand and picked up the sleek Razr that the SGC had issued him for his few days on Earth. "McKay," he answered out of force of habit.

"Can I ask a really awkward favor?" asked his colleague.

"Jennifer?"

"Of course it's Jennifer. Were you expecting a call from another woman?" she asked.

"What? No. Are you ready?"

"Almost. But I kind of need help…lacing up."

"Lacing up what, your corset?"

She laughed. "This dress is tight enough it might as well be. If you'll come over and lace me up, then we can leave."

"This isn't going to be awkward, is it?"

"Rodney…" He could hear the eye-roll in her voice.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

When Jennifer heard a knock on her door less than a minute later, she grabbed the back of her dress, pulling the fabric together tightly, then pulled up the skirt a bit with her other hand so that she could walk to the door without stepping on the dress. She unlocked the door and stepped back, letting him in.

Rodney enter the room, pausing to admire how lovely she looked. He was absolutely going to recant his previous stance on black-tie affairs…

Her strapless dress was off-white, with a tight bodice and a loose, full skirt that almost hid her feet completely. The top of the bodice was trimmed with a wide strip of a pastel pink that was covered in intricate beadwork. This same pink fabric also started at the waist on the front of the dress and made an inset, inverted V down to bottom of the gown.

She'd done her make-up just a little heavier than usual and was wearing a pair of dangling diamond earrings with a necklace to match. Her hair had obviously been curled and she'd taken a section from each side, twisted them tightly, and clipped them together at the back of her head with a small butterfly clip, creating a style that was kind of…princessy.

"Wow," was all Rodney said as he slowly looked her up and down.

Jennifer thought she might wear a dress everyday if it would get him to look at her like that. "You like it?" she asked, hopeful.

He nodded. "You-- You look very nice."

She smiled. "Thanks. You do, too," she said, admiring how sharp he looked in his tuxedo. "You wanna help me with this?" she asked, waving him inside. She shut the door behind him and then turned so her back was to him and she could see herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. She let go of the fabric she'd been holding and held the dress from the front, knowing it would fall off if she didn't. "I tried to lace it up," she explained, "but there was just no way."

Rodney picked up the long pink ribbons, trying to figure out where to start. He barley managed to keep an _'Oh, God'_ confined to his thoughts when he saw the bare, _beautiful_ skin of her exposed back and realized that she wasn't wearing a bra. He cleared his throat. "Okay, let's see…" Looking at the back of the dress, he decided that it actually was very much like lacing up a shoe, and so he began threading the ribbon through the loops on each side. When he was ready to tighten the whole thing up, he instructed, "Exhale."

She let all her air out and felt the dress suddenly becoming much tighter. A moment later, she heard him declare, "Done. Can you breathe?"

"Yeah." She turned around and smiled. "Thanks."

Looking down at where he feet couldn't quite be seen, he joked, "Do you have glass slippers on under there?"

"Something like that."

"So are there any rules for while we're at this thing?"

"Watch out for hot doctors with witty pick-up lines," she teased.

"What, like, 'My density has brought me to you'?"

"I knew it!" she cried, pointing her finger at him. "You _did_ watch _Back to the Future_!" She grinned triumphantly.

Rodney sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine… Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." She picked up her purse and they left.

XXXXXX

When they got to the ballroom where the gala was being held, everything looked so fancy Rodney was surprised that they weren't announced by a herald as they entered the room. His eyes lit up when he saw the chocolate fondue fountain on the buffet table. He was about to make a beeline for it when Jennifer said excitedly, "Isn't this great? Everything's so _fancy_ and pretty…"

"And I'm sure that one drink from the bar over there will cost me as much as I make in a month," he replied indifferently.

"Oh, come on," she said. "This is supposed to be fun."

"Getting chocolate-covered strawberries would be fun," he commented, still eyeing the fondue.

She saw what was captivating his attention and smiled. "In a minute. I want you to meet some people first."

He looked longingly at the liquid chocolate cascading down the small metal frame and sighed. "Okay…"

After the fifth introduction, Rodney remembered why he always skipped these sort of events when they were offered in his field. All the doctors shook his hand and said "pleasure" and "how do you do?" but he knew it was all fake. They asked questions and seemed endlessly interested in _her_, but he realized it was probably just because she looked so beautiful.

When the sixth old man, who looked a little bit like Dr. Lee, finally stopped talking, Jennifer turned to Rodney and said, "Thanks for letting me show you off in front of all those doctors." He shrugged, then she asked, "Wanna go get an overpriced drink?"

"Can we check out the buffet table, too?" he asked, eyeing the desserts once more.

She laughed. "Of course."

XXXXXX

After they'd eaten, Rodney and Jennifer remained at their small table, sipping on their expensive drinks and finishing off their desserts.

"You know, it's sad," Jennifer commented, licking melted chocolate off a large strawberry, "but half the stuff they taught us this weekend is completely blown out of the water by what the medical advances _we've_ made."

"Only half?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Which is good, otherwise this whole thing would have been a waste of time for me."

"Dr. Keller?" called a voice from behind her.

Jennifer turned around and saw a tall, well-dressed man approaching the table. "Yes?"

"I'm glad to see you here," he said with a lilting British accent. "If I may say so, you look absolutely stunning tonight."

She smiled, pleased by the attention. "Thank you, Doctor…?"

"Jake Moore," he reminded with a smile. "We met on the first day of the conference."

"Right. The neurologist from Johns Hopkins," she said, nodding. She turned and gestured to Rodney. "Jake, this is Dr. Rodney McKay."

Jake reached out and shook Rodney's hand. "Pleasure. What kind of doctor are you?"

"Astrophysicist, actually," Rodney answered. "I didn't attend the conference, I'm just her escort."

"Ahh." Noting that Rodney had used the platonic term "escort" rather than "date" or "boyfriend", Jake commented to Jennifer, "I noticed you watching the couples on the dance floor, Dr. Keller." He held out his hand. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

Jennifer smiled, flattered, but declined, "Oh, I'd love to, but I don't dance…"

"Nonsense," Jake said with a smile as he took her hand. "It's a waltz. There's nothing to it."

"No, I mean I _can't_."

"I assure you it's not hard," he maintained. "Please? You can't hide your beauty in the corner all night."

She blushed and nodded. "Okay." Jake began to lead her to the dance floor and she turned back to glance at Rodney, giving him an excited smile.

When they reached the middle of the floor, Jake gently took her hand and placed his right hand on her waist. She lightly rested her free hand on his shoulder and hoped that she could fake the dance from what she'd seen in old movies. The instant he started moving, she dropped her gaze to their feet, trying to match her steps with his.

"How can I see your charming smile if you're staring at the ground, Doctor?" he teased.

Jennifer looked up. "I don't want to step on your feet," she said.

"You'll do fine," he assured her. "Just follow my lead. The rhythm's rather easy, actually. One, two, three. One, two, three…" He glided her around easily. "You're doing marvelously," he said.

"If you say so," she said, almost tripping, but catching herself on his hand.

"Do you see that man over there?" Jake asked. "The rather handsome older gentleman with the martini."

Jennifer glanced over at the sidelines. "What about him?"

"He wishes you were dancing with him."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because he's watching you pensively. I'm sure he's thinking about how pretty you are." He gently spun her around.

"Oh, he is _not_." Jennifer blushed.

"Perhaps you're right," Jake conceded, then added with a grin, "Maybe he's watching _me_ and thinking about how pretty _I_ am." He smiled when she laughed.

Rodney fidgeted with his drink napkin as he watched them. Jake had apparently said something witty and charming because Jennifer laughed. _'What a fine pair,'_ Rodney thought sullenly to himself. Of course she found him enchanting; Jake was tall, dark, handsome, funny, and _he_ could dance. Rodney took another sip of his drink. _'Story of my life…'_

When the music ended, Jake released Jennifer. "You did wonderfully," he said with a cheery smile.

"If by wonderfully, you mean only tripping three times, then okay," Jennifer laughed.

He grinned. "Thank you for the dance. I think I should let you get back to Dr. McKay, though."

"I guess."

"He was watching you the whole time, you know," Jake teased.

She blushed. "Enjoy the rest of the party," she said.

"And you as well." He gently took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. Jennifer was stunned by his fairy-tale manners. "Good evening."

When Jennifer made her way back over to the table, she noticed that Rodney looked like someone had knocked the wind out of his sails.

"Did you and McDreamy have fun?" he asked tersely.

"We did," she answered, sitting down across from him. "Although I made an idiot of myself tripping over his feet in these stupid shoes. And don't call him McDreamy; he's _way_ more attractive than that." When Rodney didn't reply to that, instead looking down and staring at his drink, Jennifer realized why he was pouting. "Wait, are you _jealous_?"

"No," he answered quickly, looking up. "If you want to be twirled around by rich doctors, be my guest. I will sit here and drink these little…" He stared at the fruity drink in front of him. "…whatever they are."

"You _are_ jealous," she repeated, then shook her head in amusement. "Rodney, you don't have anything to worry ab--"

"Jennifer!"

Keller turned in the direction of the female voice. She smiled when she saw Andrea and a man she presumed to be Andrea's husband. She got out of her chair to greet her friend, Rodney's jealousy forgotten for the time being. "Andrea, your dress is beautiful!" she exclaimed, admiring the slinky peridot garment.

"Thanks. I love yours, too!" Andrea complimented. "You look like a princess!"

Jennifer smiled, then turned to introduce Rodney.

XXXXXX

It was a little after midnight when Jennifer told Rodney she was ready to leave. The streets were much quieter and there was almost nobody else on the sidewalks. There were still a few cars and several taxis rumbling by, though; it was New York, after all.

When Rodney started to hail a cab, Jennifer stopped him. "Oh, don't bother with a taxi," she said, pulling his arm down "It's not _that_ far to the hotel and it feels great out here. Can't we walk?"

Rodney sighed.

"What?"

"I just know that as soon as I say yes and we start walking, it's going to start raining, or a stray dog with rabies will attack us, or we'll become the victims of a drive-by shooting or something equally horrible," he said, glancing behind them nervously.

She rolled her eyes, though his imaginings amused her. "We will _not_. New York isn't as bad as they make it seem in movies."

"No, I'm sure it's worse. You see that guy?" He pointed at a dirty-looking man with tattered clothes, on a bench several feet away. "He's staring at us."

"He's probably just homeless and hungry, Rodney," she pointed out. "Give him a break. He didn't just come from a fancy party with lots of food."

"I don't see what's so great about fancy parties, anyway," he complained. "Everybody's stuck up and it's always a contest to see who's making the most money and who's driving the nicest car and who's got the hottest date with the most diamonds on her…"

"You didn't enjoy it at all?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, no, I did," he said quickly, then added, "I enjoyed being with you."

She looked down in an attempt to hide her pleased blush, but then realized it was too dark for him to see it anyways. "You didn't mind me parading you around in front of all those stuffy doctors?"

"Hey, having a pretty girl on my arm at a party is only going to help my image," he teased. "I mean, if any of _my_ colleagues happened to see us, they'd think you were crazy or that I'd paid you to be my date."

"Just what is so crazy about the idea of us dating?" she asked, stopping and turning to face him.

"Huh?" He was startled by her response to what he'd meant as a compliment; she was staring at him intently, her eyes demanding an honest reply. "I didn't mean it'd be _crazy_… I just-- I mean, I'm not, y'know… And you're very, umm-- You know how much I suck at--" He stopped babbling and looked down, trying to form a coherent sentence in his head. He had almost decided on "You don't want someone with as many issues as me" when he heard a startled gasp. He quickly looked up and was horrified to see a young man holding Jennifer at gunpoint. He had the barrel of his compact weapon against her throat and was holding her body tight against his with his arm around her middle.

Before Rodney had a chance to react any further than his jaw dropping in shock, the youth demanded, "I want your wallet and her purse." When Rodney just stood there, their attacker pressed the gun harder against her neck.

"Rodney, please," Jennifer whimpered, the cold metal digging into her skin.

Rodney nodded dumbly and quickly reached for his wallet, muttering, "Oh, God. Okay, okay, here."

"How about those jewels, too, baby?" he asked, eyeing her diamonds.

Jennifer quickly reached up to remove her earrings, accidentally dropping her purse in the process.

Feeling like the world's biggest coward, Rodney reached down and picked up her purse, offering it and his wallet to the man. He'd recovered from his initial shock and wasn't completely helpless anymore, but it wasn't like he had any kind of weapon and he wouldn't dare risk getting Jennifer shot.

"Put the bling in the bag, honey," the man instructed. Jennifer put her jewelry in her purse with shaking hands. He let go of her waist and grabbed their belongings, stuffing them in his oversized hooded sweatshirt. Then he aimed his gun at McKay, shoving Jennifer towards him. Tripping in her heels, she fell into Rodney's arms. "Thanks for your cooperation," their aggressor sneered. He kept his weapon on them as he quickly backed up. When he thought he was a safe enough distance away that he wouldn't be chased, he turned and ran, vanishing into the night.

Both shaken, Rodney was still holding Jennifer, one arm around her, the other compulsively patting her back. "You--You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, still clinging to him.

His hand stilled and he loosened his grip, but she didn't let go. "And now we can add this to the list of reasons why you deserve to be with someone else," he said dejectedly.

She frowned and stepped back. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You saved my life! Again."

"But you deserve to be with someone who wouldn't get you into these situations in the first place! Someone who would have been able to defend you, had the situation been inevitable."

Now she was getting frustrated at his insistence that she deserved better. "Okay, first, walking was _my_ idea, not yours. You suggested that we get a cab and I refused. And, second, haven't you ever seen Batman?"

Rodney refrained from informing her that he owned a copy of nearly every version of any Batman ever produced. "Which one?" he asked instead.

"The one where his parents got mugged when he was a kid. The dad tried to fight off the attacker and they both got killed. Sometimes it takes a wiser man to keep still and not fight back."

"Oh, it wasn't wisdom. It was extreme fear and cowardice."

Even in the dim light, she could see that he looked ashamed. "Rodney," she said gently. "It was _my_ fault we were even out here. But neither of us are hurt, and that's what counts. We'll just cancel our credit cards first thing in the morning."

"I guess…" He still wasn't looking at her.

"Hey." She touched his arm. "_I_ thought you were brave."

He gave her a questioning glance. "Really?"

"You didn't freak out like I did. You gave him what he wanted and didn't try anything stupid that would have gotten me hurt. …which was kinda sweet if you think about it." She gave him that flirty little smile that usually set him to babbling.

"Yes, well, naturally-- I mean, I couldn't do anything to jeopardize… What I mean is, it's not like I would've--"

"Rodney!" she interrupted. "Are we going to stand out here waiting to become victims of your drive-by shooting or are we going to get a cab and go back to the hotel?" She smiled.

"Right. Okay, a cab… Wait a minute, how are we supposed to pay him?"

"I could give him a lap dance," Jennifer suggested. When Rodney's eyes about bugged out of his head, she laughed. "I'm kidding! I've got five bucks leftover from when I visited the bar."

He raised his eyebrows. "Where?"

She felt like blushing again. "Someplace…safe," she said awkwardly. "Just hail a cab already."

It was almost two minutes before a cab came rumbling down the road, but Rodney quickly flagged it down. While he was talking to the cabbie and making sure the fare to their hotel wouldn't be more than five dollars, Jennifer turned away from the street and sneaked a hand down the front of her dress, retrieving the bill from where she'd tucked it in her bodice when she realized she'd forgotten her purse at the table.

They got into the taxi and made it back to the hotel in about ten minutes.

"So, there's a really good movie on at twelve-thirty," Jennifer said as they stepped into the elevator. "Wanna watch it?"

"What movie is it?"

She shook her head coyly. "It's a surprise."

He sighed. "Fine. But only if we watch it in my room so I can go to sleep whenever I want."

"Deal." The elevator dinged and the doors opened onto their floor. "It's gonna take me a while to get out of this dress, so feel free to change into pajamas while you're waiting."

"Maybe I don't _wear_ pajamas…" he teased.

She lightly hit his arm. "Would you go? Your room is _that_ way," she said, pointing in the opposite direction.

He chuckled and went to his room.

Nine minutes later, Rodney heard a knock at his door.

When he opened the door for her, Jennifer stared at his faded t-shirt and flannel pants. "Those are your pajamas?" she asked.

"What were you expecting? Footie pajamas with atomic models all over them?"

She snorted. "Something like that. Are you gonna let me in? The movie's about to start." He stepped aside and let her enter. Then he closed the door as she went over to one of the beds, sitting down and getting comfy. She grabbed the remote and selected the proper channel. When Rodney turned off the lights and sat down next to her, she said, "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"There's a perfectly good, empty bed over there, but you picked the one that I'm on." She smiled triumphantly. "You like me."

"Actually, this bed is just much closer to the TV," he replied.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She stretched out on the bed and lay her head on the pillow. Then she groaned. "Your big feet are in the way."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said with typical sarcasm. "Let me make them magically disappear."

Not bothering to respond to his comment, Jennifer picked up her pillow, placed it on his lap, and lay her head down again.

"Or…you could just do that," he said, caught a little off-guard.

"Shh, the movie's starting," she said.

When the animated titles came up, Rodney frowned. "_The Little Mermaid_? You're making me stay up past midnight to watch _The Little Mermaid_?"

"This is my favorite Disney movie," she said defensively. "And they're having a Disney princess marathon all weekend; what else did you think we were gonna watch?"

"Fine," he sighed. He'd actually never seen it before, so at least it'd be something new.

About halfway through the movie, when Ariel began combing her hair with Prince Eric's fork, Rodney noticed that Jennifer had never taken her hair down. "You didn't take the clip out," he commented.

"Feel free," she said, perfectly comfortable and not wanting to move.

Rodney gently removed the butterfly clip from her hair and set it on the nightstand. Then he began softly running his fingers through her hair, uncurling it back to its natural wave.

Jennifer sighed contentedly; she could lay here forever. "You keep doing that, I'm gonna fall asleep, Rodney," she said as her eyes started to close.

"Ah, but then you'll never know if Ariel gets to be with her true love," Rodney teased.

"A, I've seen it before, and B, it's a Disney movie; of course she gets her prince and they live happily ever after."

"Unrealistic ideals at their finest."

"You don't believe in happily ever after?"

He stopped stroking her hair. "I believe that if it exists at all, it's extremely rare," he answered after a pause. "The only people I know that I think will still be together in fifty years are my sister and her husband."

"Why them?" she asked, curious.

"Because I think Jeannie will make it work no matter what." Realizing that the conversation was getting a little deeper than he cared for, especially at this time of night, he said, "And I just missed that whole scene and have no idea what's happening now."

"Sebastian's trying to get Eric to kiss her," Jennifer yawned. "And I'm gonna go back to falling asleep."

"'Kay."

True to her word, Jennifer was asleep before the end of the next song. Rodney didn't notice for another ten minutes, and by that point, he figured he might as well finish the movie.

Some time later, when Ariel and Eric's ship sailed off and the credits started playing, Rodney began debating about whether or not he should move to the other bed. He'd have to get up without disturbing Jennifer _and_ make it to the other bed without tripping over anything in the dark. Besides, this was _his _bed and his special pillow was already over here. Rodney reached for the remote and clicked off the TV. Thrown into darkness, it took him a minute to adjust to the small amount of moonlight peeking in from around the thick curtain. The lack of light seemed to immediately dial up his melatonin levels and he felt his eyelids drooping.

Jennifer sighed in her sleep and then rolled off his lap, leaving just the right amount of room for him on the bed. Taking that as an invitation, subconscious or not, Rodney slid down and lay his head on his pillow. He tried to count prime numbers in his head, which was how he usually fell asleep when he wasn't aided by complete physical exhaustion, but the calypso chorus of "Under the Sea" wouldn't stop echoing in his head.

_'It figures that her favorite movie would be a Disney movie…'_ he mused. _'Bet she dressed up as Ariel for Halloween.'_ This produced a mental image of Jennifer sunbathing on the beach, wearing a seashell bra. Rodney felt his cheeks flush and he shook the image from his thoughts.

Knowing that they were leaving to go back to Atlantis in the morning, Rodney let his thoughts wander over the events of their shared weekend. Walking through Central Park…getting yelled at by the zookeepers…eating ice cream together…watching her dance…holding her after they'd gotten mugged… He glanced over at her, sleeping peacefully, and decided that maybe she was right. Maybe he did like her. Just a little bit.


End file.
